outages for 100,000 customers on long island. and for the first time ever, lipa is deferring storm operations and response to its subcontractor, national grid. but in manhattan today, it was mostly business as usual, although many workers did try to leave early to beat the snow. and if the snowfall is anywhere close to the storm of '78, you'll see the impact in economic data in the weeks ahead. >> usually major storms cause increased volatility in economic data. so, that jobless claims jump significantly in the beginning as government offices close, because of the storm. and they surge back up after the offices reopened. >> reporter: if there's a silver lining in this storm, it's the timing. the heaviest snowfall will happen over the weekend. and the clean-up is expected well before valentines day, which contributes $18 billion to the economy. erika miller, "n.b.r.," new york. >> susie: that massive storm is also pushing up fuel prices. those higher prices come as gasoline is also on the rise. joining us now with the outlook for